A Trail of Purple
by Eve Is My Pen Name
Summary: A collection of oneshots for AkaKuro Week. Ranging from canon to AU, angst to fluff.
1. One Just for You

**a/n:** This is a collection of the oneshots I wrote for AkaKuro Week. Some are AU, some canon, some fluffy, some angsty.

_Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke._

* * *

**Day One (One Just for You)**

Sometimes Kuroko still marveled at the grainy feel of the basketball beneath his fingertips. So often, he barely brushed the ball. While others hardly kept the basketball out of their hands between dunks and drives and winning shots, Kuroko only let the leather linger in his palm long enough to pass to someone else.

At least that used to be the limit of his power during a game. His time at Seirin changed that drastically.

Now Kuroko charged down the court, the point guard and leading player if only briefly.

He would never play such a role during an actual match, but when they separated into two teams to practice, Kuroko somehow ended up in the point guard position against Izuki. At least Kagami still played with him, but Hyuuga and Tepei sided with Izuki. Mitube, Koganei, and Furihata made up the rest of Kuroko's team.

Aida liked to throw them off guard, and the new match-ups gave her a chance to view their potential in a different light. Kuroko just liked to play.

The other four members of his team along with the defense beat him to the other end of the floor, and Kuroko dribbled the ball past the half-court line. He hesitated at the top of the key when Izuki took up a defensive position against him, but he had watched enough ball-handlers in his time to keep from getting flustered. Besides, he knew his teammates well enough to know what to watch.

One second, two, and Kuroko saw the opening. Mitube screened Teppei, and Kagami took the opportunity to dart to the opposite side soft spot.

Before he even crossed under the goal, Kuroko employed his vanishing drive and passed Izuki. Unfortunately, his teammates knew him as well as he knew them. Hyuuga blocked Kuroko's path, and his size dwarfed Kuroko's in such a way that he lost sight of Kagami as well as the window to send him the pass.

Normally, this did not faze Kuroko. He possessed the awareness to quickly change his tactics and pass to another teammate. Even if this did not come as easily with a patchwork team, Kuroko still had options. Furihata handled the ball well, and he could take over as point guard. Koganei had the experience to pick up the frayed strings of the play.

However, something about the layout of the court triggered Kuroko's memory.

Hyuuga blocked his path, and though Izuki was now behind him, he crouched in wait for Furihata to run behind him, ready to take over the point guard's position.

A spark lit up in Kuroko's mind, and he shifted the ball in his grip. He made to pass to Koganei… and then sent the ball behind his back with lightning speed… straight into Izuki's arms.

"Hey, Kuroko, did you get confused about who's on your team?" Hyuuga questioned.

"Idiot, your passes only work if they're to your teammates," Kagami shouted.

Izuki's eyes widened at the unexpected receive, but he quickly recovered and sent the ball to the other end of the court. Teppei, running since the start of Kuroko's mistake, easily caught the ball and made a layup.

Kuroko watched the whole play unfold, and he shook his head lightly to clear the fog in his mind. Furihata patted him on the back.

"Don't mind. We'll get them next time," he encouraged.

Others whispered that even Kuroko made stupid mistakes occasionally, and Kuroko tried not to feel annoyed. He did make a stupid mistake, and he deserved all the flak that came with that.

But that pass had felt so familiar, so natural… And he suddenly remembered why the situation roused that reaction in him. And why the pass had not succeeded.

After all, only one person in the world could have caught that pass.

**[Two Years Ago]**

"Again, Tetsuya."

"I will get it this time, Akashi-kun."

"Yes."

For perhaps the thirtieth time that day, Kuroko drove forward. He did not have the power of a point guard, but he dribbled decently. Three strides past the top of the key, Akashi said, "Now there's a defender. Stop but do not pick up the dribble."

Kuroko did as he was told, and he continued to dribble in the face of an imaginary defender. The rest of the basketball members left over an hour ago, so only Kuroko and Akashi played on the court now. Akashi requested that Kuroko stay to try out a new pass that Akashi wanted to implement. Kuroko agreed.

"In this scenario you act as the point guard, and I will be on the wing. Our opponents will instantly see through this as their data will tell them I am the point guard. When I travel to the top of the key, a defender will be on me. Pass straight to that defender," Akashi ordered.

Though he knew better, Kuroko protested the first time that Akashi explained the move to him. "But Akashi-kun, that would be-"

"Tetsuya, do you have so little faith in me? You will not result in a turnover. When you seemingly pass the ball to the defender, I will use ankle break and catch the ball instead."

Once Akashi explained the full picture, Kuroko saw the genius in the plan. Of course no team would fall for such a cheap ploy as posing Kuroko as the point guard, but they would think nothing of a forgettable player accidentally passing to the other team… at least until he didn't. Akashi would catch his disguised pass and either shoot himself or send the ball to whichever teammate offered up the most promising position.

Kuroko practiced the over-the-shoulder pass repeatedly under Akashi's scrutinizing gaze. Eventually, they revealed the pass to the rest of the Generation of Miracles, and when they acted as defenders, the pass proved to work perfectly.

When Kuroko pulled his dribble to a stop in the face of Aomine's impassable stance, he sent the ball straight to where Kise guarded Akashi behind him. Akashi used ankle break, and as Kise fell to the court, Akashi caught the ball and sent a perfect pass to Midorima. Shoot. Score.

Victory.

Kise and Aomine gushed over Kuroko's new pass, and Murasakibara patted him on the head. Midorima pretended not to care, but he even offered Kuroko some underhanded praise. "I see you are making yourself more useful."

When that practice ended, Akashi cornered Kuroko while the others went to the locker room. "Incidentally," he said. "This is a pass you can only perform with me."

"Of course, Akashi-kun," Kuroko replied.

At the time Kuroko realized Akashi's words made perfect sense. As Akashi was the only person who could use ankle break, naturally the pass would only work with him.

Kuroko did not think until later of the odd half-smile that twisted Akashi's lips at this move that only the two of them could share.

**[Two Years Later]**

This time, Kuroko let Furihata bring the ball down, and he reverted to his normal position of passing and stealing and looking for opportunities. Better to break that old habit now than to endure another similar embarrassment later.

The memories hurt too much.


	2. Not a Pet, Not a Tool

**Day Two (Not a Pet, Not a Tool)**

Kuroko closed his book and set it on top of the stack on his bedside table. His sixth book in half as many days. As much as he liked reading, he wondered if he should turn to a different hobby. He tried television, but none of the shows on the offered channels interested him. Maybe he would ask Kagami to bring him a movie the next time he visited.

Sleep always presented an option, but Kuroko slept so often these days. He slumbered all night and then most of the day.

Perhaps Kuroko would read again, but when he reached for his bedside table, he realized that he had read every book Kagami had brought. So he really did have nothing left to do.

With the quietest sigh, Kuroko sat back in his bed and closed his eyes. Sleep it was then.

"Kuroko-kun, you have a visitor."

Kuroko never quite showed surprise, but when he opened his eyes and shifted in his bed, his voice came out slightly higher pitched than normal. "Kagami-kun?"

The nurse shook her head, and Kuroko was not surprised. Kagami came every other day, as often as he could, but he had school and basketball practice today. None of the rest of the Seirin's basketball team said they were going to visit him today. Nor his parents. They normally called or texted before a visit anyway.

"This man has never come before, at least not on my shift. Are you sure you want me to allow him in?" the nurse asked. She was young, barely out of college, and Kuroko liked her. She valued her patients' comfort above all else.

"It's fine. You can let him in," Kuroko said.

Perhaps it was Midorima or Murasakibara. Aomine came decently often, and Kise stopped by every chance he could. While the other two had visited, they came so rarely that they might have missed the nurse's shift.

She nodded and left. A few moments later, a different figure took up his doorway.

"Akashi-kun?"

"Hello, Tetsuya."

Kuroko had not seen Akashi since the Winter Cup of their third year, and that had been two years ago. They all chose different universities or career paths, and while Kuroko had kept in touch with almost everyone, he never once heard from Akashi. He saw him on the news a few times for his success, but never a personal exchange of messages.

"Please, sit down," Kuroko offered politely. He gestured to the stiff-backed chair next to his bed on the opposite side of his table. Kagami placed it there to have easy access to Kuroko for conversation and inspection.

Akashi moved as gracefully as ever as he somehow made himself look regal in the cheap chair. He surveyed the room, his sharp eyes catching everything. When he stared at his monitor, Kuroko had no doubt that he understand exactly what every number and pattern meant.

"I am surprised to see you here," Kuroko admitted though that was not exactly what he wanted to say.

_I am surprised you came. I am surprised you know I am sick. I am surprised you choose now to visit when I have been in the hospital for a month._

"I thought I should see your progress for myself," Akashi said. "Would you like these on your table or now?"

Kuroko had not noticed that Akashi brought gifts until he held up a bag and a cup. Kuroko took them in his hands and set the bag on his bed. When he sipped from the straw, he tasted the familiar sweetness of a vanilla milkshake. He peered into the bag to find three books, one the sequel to the one he just finished.

"You knew," Kuroko realized.

"I see everything, Tetsuya," Akashi reminded him.

"Then why…?" Kuroko trailed off even though he always tried to finish his statements when he started them. As rarely as he did speak, he hoped his words would mean something, but they slipped his mind now. He wished he could blame the medication, but he suspected it was merely Akashi.

Akashi never looked uncertain, and he never avoided the problems at hand. Yet when Kuroko did not complete his question, he only said, "According to your doctor you should be released within a week. The transplant was a success."

"I was lucky they found a donor in time." The words came mechanically from his mouth, a practiced statement Kuroko both heard and repeated countless times to his well-meaning visitors.

A wry smile lifted Akashi's lips. "Ah. Yes."

Something lit up in Kuroko's mind, and he wondered if his wild emotions of anger and gratitude came from his near-death experience, his medication, or some other thing.

"Akashi-kun, when will you treat us like humans instead of your pets… or tools?" Kuroko asked.

"Pardon?" Akashi strengthened his gaze as he regarded Kuroko with a stony façade that barely masked his shock.

"You cannot ignore us for years and only step in to make sure we are healthy and safe, optimum for your pleasure and use. Do you not think we would like your company as well?" Kuroko persisted.

The burning power of Akashi's eyes seemed to falter, and Kuroko wondered if he had made a mistake. Akashi had always been this way. He watched over things like a deity, and he stepped in to reward, punish, or maintain. He never considered them the friends that Kuroko had.

Perhaps Kuroko had misinterpreted their relationship his entire life.

"Thank you for the milkshake and the books. And the hospital room, donor, and surgery," Kuroko said. An attempt to mend the tension without giving up his lead.

"You're welcome." Akashi stood to leave, and Kuroko tried not to feel disappointed.

However, Akashi lingered in the doorway and added, "Perhaps, when the doctors release you and you are feeling well, we shall go out for dinner."

Or maybe Kuroko was as perceptive as he had always thought himself to be. One did not invite a pet or a tool to dinner. Only humans.


	3. Show Something I'm Giving Up on You

**Day Three (Show Something I'm Giving Up On You)**

Something had started to bother Akashi about Kuroko. He did not give the thought much attention due to his other responsibilities, but here and there, the notion recurred to him that something did not seem right. The feeling first hit him during their second year of middle school, and it did not stop even when they entered their third year of high school.

Akashi did not realize what exactly bothered him until he woke up to the quiet noises of Kuroko crying in his sleep.

Kuroko and Akashi started seeing each other near the end of their second year of high school. Kuroko somehow managed to reconcile all of the Generation of Miracles, and despite Akashi's careful planning and strategies, Kuroko still exceeded his expectations.

He always had been good at doing that.

Sometimes too good.

His father away on a business trip, Akashi had invited Kuroko to spend the night. The mansion seemed less lonely with Kuroko there, and his bedroom lost some of its clinical functional feel.

Akashi fell asleep feeling happier than he had in a long time, and a light feeling lifted his chest. A feeling that deftly shattered when he woke at three of the morning to the sound of muffled sobs.

Akashi sat up, and after his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he saw the tears streaming from Kuroko's closed eyes. The other boy still slept, trapped in whatever nightmare brought these tears, and Akashi debated over whether it would be better to wake him now or wait. He wanted a clue as to what caused his lover such distress, but Kuroko whimpered no audible words.

And that's when Akashi realized what specifically was bothered him.

He placed a gentle hand on Kuroko's shoulder, and he opened his eyes. He did not startle or call out. He simply woke and sat up in the bed.

"Akashi?" he murmured. Kuroko wiped the back of his hand across his eyes, and he registered the wetness on his skin with clinical observation.

"Tetsuya," Akashi said. "Are you okay?"

Kuroko nodded. "I am fine. I apologize for waking you," he said.

"You have no need to apologize. Will you tell me what hurt you so in your dream?" he asked.

Kuroko froze, and Akashi suspected that the flitting memories of his nightmare passed through his mind in vivid clarity. After a few moments, he shook his head. "It is nothing to be concerned with. I apologize for making you worry, but it is only a dream," Kuroko insisted.

Akashi shook his head sadly before pulling Kuroko in his lap.

The smaller boy did not make a sound of surprise or protest. He only tilted his head slightly in a silent question. Now that Akashi realized the source of his displeasure for years, he saw it before him in obvious glaring lettering.

"Tetsuya, do you remember when I told you to hide your emotions on the court?" Akashi questioned.

The day came back to Akashi clearly. The disappointment at Kuroko's apparent failure transforming to the golden triumph of having been right all along. Even though Kuroko paved his own way, Akashi could not help feeling a bit of pride at the success.

"Yes," Kuroko confirmed. "Your advice helped me earn my spot on the first string. I'm grateful."

Akashi was never uncertain, but he did know he needed to be tactful in how he approached his next topic. He valued Kuroko as a person, and he never wanted him to feel otherwise. However, he could not shake the feeling that he had performed an unfortunate deed during that game so many years ago.

No, he was correct. His orders were absolute. He simply did not anticipate this… side effect.

"You excelled in every aspect, Tetsuya. You perfected your style of basketball, and you owe a good part of that to your misdirection and the emotionless façade that your technique requires. However… when did you begin hiding your emotions in every aspect of your life?"

Kuroko's eyes only widened slightly at Akashi's blunt question, and even now, he displayed the proof. Akashi admitted to himself that Kuroko had never been a particularly expressive person. Not like Aomine or Kise who spewed personality no matter what they did. Nevertheless, Akashi remembered a time when Kuroko's face showed far more than what it did now.

"I put everything into my style of basketball. I lived it," Kuroko answered simply.

And Akashi understood that. He put his heart and soul into whatever he set out to do. He refused to be anything less than perfect, and that required utmost dedication and concentration.

"I only wish you would not hide things that hurt you from me," Akashi admitted.

Kuroko's eyes softened as the corners of his lips lifted in the tiniest hint of a smile. "You are far kinder in the dark, Akashi-kun," he said.

Akashi tried not to feel annoyed, but that was difficult when Kuroko deliberately avoided the subjects he was trying to address. Kuroko seemed to sense his feelings, for he leaned back against Akashi's chest. The even rise and fall of his breathing offered Akashi comfort as Kuroko continued, "Sometimes I have nightmares of middle school. Of getting demoted after that first game. Or of playing in that gym by myself forever without anyone ever noticing. I do not feel like I should bother you with them because they are meaningless as soon as I wake up."

"You still fear failure," Akashi realized.

"Everyone fears failure," Kuroko corrected. "But you helped me find a way to overcome that fear. Do not think I have ever regretted what you told me on that day."

Kuroko slipped back into sleep, lulled by the steady beat of Akashi's heartbeat. Akashi wrapped his arms around him and held him through the night, but he could never bring himself to close his eyes.

He thought back to the young first year in middle school who showed his fear and disappointment and anxiety through his features just as any normal child did. Kuroko assured him that he did not regret his change, but Akashi silently wondered if the victory was worth the price after all.


	4. The Only One Forgotten

**Day Four (The Only One Forgotten)**

There were two things that were certain in Akashi's life no matter what. One, he would remember. Two, Tetsuya.

When he was young, and the adjective described his mind here and not his body, he did not understand that he saw more than others did. Only time and experience showed him that his Emperor Eye made him special and not just another being on this continuous Earth. The average mind kept part of the memories of only one lifetime. Akashi always remembered everything about each one.

He studied religion. Not just one but all of them. He certainly had the time to do so, but despite his extensive research, Akashi never found a name for it, so he offered up his own. Emperor Eye. The sight of a ruler through the space-time continuum.

Sometimes he used his intelligence and natural leadership to push and pull the world in whatever direction he chose. Sometimes he preferred to linger in the shadows and watch. Occasionally he chose something small and simply lived.

The lifetimes stacked on top of each other, and Akashi grew.

While he always knew to remember, Akashi did not discover Tetsuya until the twenty-first century.

He scolded himself over and over again, and Akashi marveled over the fact that he could ever use adjectives such as unobservant or oblivious or stupid to describe himself. As soon as someone gave him the nudge, the pieces fell in his mind with efficient speed and accuracy. Those blue eyes had followed him for so long…

The discovery took place during a time in which Akashi simply chose a project. He had heard of basketball during a previous life, and he saw potential there. When he found himself a student in Japan, he decided this provided the ideal opportunity to reshape the game and perhaps perfect some of his own strategies. They might prove useful during another life.

He pieced together a team like nothing ever seen before, but he still felt a sense of something coming. Some unknown factor.

He should have figured it out then, but he still needed interference. Daiki had to literally gesture to the enigma before Akashi even laid eyes on him.

But when he did…

As soon as Akashi met the cool blue gaze of Kuroko Tetsuya, he realized that this was not their first meeting. He had seen those eyes over and over again. The memories came flooding back to him, and interactions that seemed so trivial at the time suddenly weighed heavy with significance.

The Jewish boy who showed him a hiding place during the Holocaust. The squire who provided him with a better sword right before he won the tournament against the most feared knight in England. The Indian who taught him the best way to grow corn when he first visited America. The fellow rebel who held his hand as they marched to their executions.

Each one shared the same blue eyes, and Akashi had not spared them a passing thought until now.

How many lives had he shared with Kuroko Tetsuya without realizing it?

Akashi controlled his expression and actions at the time, but even in the midst of the biggest shock in all his lives, he still managed to plant the bait. He wanted to understand more of Tetsuya, and to do so, he needed him in his proximity.

He was not surprised when Tetsuya managed to work his way to first string. After all, he had never failed him during his many past lives.

The more Akashi thought of it, the more he realized that Tetsuya must be like him. No one else had ever reincarnated with him in this way. He occasionally grew close to someone during a lifetime, but they never followed him into the next cycle. If Tetsuya somehow managed to make an appearance in every single one, surely that made him as special as Akashi.

But if that was so, why did Tetsuya never give any hint or indication? He acted as if basketball was the most important goal in his life. Surely not…? If he also possessed Emperor Eye, then this life should be just another game to him.

When months of playing first string together passed, Akashi's patience stretched thin. Normally, he had the discipline to wait years for his plans to come to fruition, but Tetsuya gave him feelings Akashi forgot he possessed.

So Akashi asked Tetsuya to stay late after practice, and once the other players and the coaches left, Akashi confronted him.

"Who are you?"

Tetsuya missed his shot, and as the ball rolled away, he turned to face Akashi. "Excuse me?" he asked.

Akashi tried not to feel annoyed, but he persevered. "I'm asking who you are. It is only the two of us here, so there is no point in disguising our words. We have met before."

"I apologize, Akashi-kun, but I think you have me mistaken for someone else."

At this point Akashi might have stepped back. He might have recalculated and concluded that he mistook those blue eyes to mean something more than they really did. However, Emperor Eye never failed him, and Akashi remembered Tetsuya.

"Do not lie," he ordered.

Tetsuya sighed. "I am Kuroko Tetsuya. That is who I have always been. I do not know why I keep finding you."

"So you do remember," Akashi said, triumphant.

"Yes. Each life always leads me to you in some way. I can tell you remember your past because you learn. When something goes badly in one cycle, you take precautions to prevent it during the next. However, you never seem to remember me… until now."

Akashi studied Tetsuya closely, and he sensed some sadness in his words. Then again, Akashi understood the loneliness of being the only one to remember each time. He could only imagine Tetsuya's side of the story: to be the only thing forgotten by a person who always remembers.

"I wonder why," Akashi murmured.

"I once believed we were soul mates, destined to meet in each life, but since you never remembered me, I gave up on the idea," Tetsuya admitted. "To be honest I have imagined this conversation many times, but I seem to have forgotten everything I planned to say to you."

A smile softened Akashi's expression. "That is okay. You have plenty of time to remember. Now that I know you, I do not plan to forget."


	5. Our Special Today

**Day Five (Our Special Today)**

His mother helped him get the job. She understood Kuroko in a way no one else did because she was invisible, too. Same pale blue hair, same translucent skin, but their trait ran deeper than that.

"Some people work in the shadows, and only their work follows them," his mother told him. "And that's okay."

His mother worked as a surgeon in one of the best hospitals in the country. She performed miracles behind closed doors, but she almost never spoke to her patients when they were conscious. Her hospital received award after award, and she gained silent satisfaction. She said she preferred it that way.

Kuroko understood once he started working at the coffee shop inside the hospital. No one remembered his face, but the relief of caffeine and warmth of frothy bliss lingered with them all day.

While they never saw him, the lone barista behind the counter, Kuroko knew them. The doctors with stress lines at young ages. The nurses with too little sleep. The family members that held flowers and cards. The lovers with red eyes and limp hands. Kuroko knew them all, and he loved them in his own way. He respected their tiny battles, and he enjoyed helping them if only by handing them a warm cup.

Kuroko discovered a pattern in the hospital. He recognized the same doctors and nurses who stopped for coffee in the mornings and then a different crew who came by in the late evening for the night shifts. Families made a habit of his shop for a week or two at a time, and then they disappeared to be replaced by other faces when their family member either grew better or didn't.

Even when they faded from his daily routine, Kuroko never forgot them. He sometimes wondered about them during the slower hours of his shift.

...

Akashi stood out to Kuroko from their first meeting. Most visitors of the hospital carried the same weariness, but Akashi radiated confidence and assurance, and not the false bravado of the desperate. He wore a business suit, and he carried a laptop bag. His gaze, scarlet and golden, seemed piercing even under casual circumstances.

The most shocking detail of all was that Kuroko knew him.

Akashi Seijuro, first year in high school, student council president.

He ordered a large red-eye - coffee with a shot of espresso - and paid with a debit card. As they went through the exchange of barista and consumer, Kuroko realized Akashi did not know him in turn. Then again, why would he? Kuroko was a third year in middle school.

Akashi walked away, and Kuroko wondered what brought him to the hospital.

...

Kuroko worked afternoons Monday through Friday, Saturday nights, and mornings before school on Tuesday and Thursday. Akashi became a part of his routine every evening at five when he ordered the same large red-eye, and Kuroko tried to gauge something more of the situation.

He assumed a close family member was sick because Akashi never missed a day. Then he gathered that this person so love by Akashi was not getting better.

The average person would miss it. His complexion and fiery hair never sank below perfect. His suit or school uniform always crisp. Nevertheless, Kuroko picked up on the steady erosion of Akashi's spirit.

...

"We have a special today. New flavor. Would you like to try it?"

They did not have a special today, and they had carried the same flavors since Kuroko started working. Still, Kuroko recited the words to Akashi in hope that he might inquire about the promised special. It hurt Kuroko that Akashi ordered the same bitter concoction every day. A barista could do so little to help a person, but some milk or sugar might do him some good.

"No thank you," Akashi said. "Large coffee with one shot of espresso."

Kuroko rang him up, and Akashi swiped his card.

...

Kuroko knew heartache. He saw it every day in the eyes of those he served. One could not really avoid pain in a hospital, and his mother warmed him of this from the beginning.

Sympathy came natural to Kuroko. When he watched the zombie-like people shuffle through their days in a cloud of dread, Kuroko wished he gave them more than just a cup of coffee. Nevertheless, he was in middle school, and his ability to save the world was limited.

Limited but not absent.

When Akashi came to Kuroko on a Wednesday evening with bags under his eyes and a slight tremble in his fingers, Kuroko slipped him a bag with two cookies. Akashi opened his mouth to protest, but Kuroko shook his head, and for whatever reason, Akashi accepted them. Kuroko only charged for the coffee, and he paid for the cookies from his own pocket.

...

"Do you not go to school?"

The question took Kuroko by surprise. Akashi had been visiting the hospital for a month now, and this was his first statement that had nothing to do with coffee or payment. Kuroko thought he might drop the scalding espresso on himself, but he managed to slip it safely in the cup. He handed it to Akashi and entered the prices into the cash register.

"Yes, I go," Kuroko said.

"It's seven on a school morning," Akashi pointed out. He paid with his debit card, and he did not seem to find the irony that his inquiries came from a high school student.

"At ten minutes until eight, I walk to the middle school. I have never been late," Kuroko informed him.

Akashi leveled him with his heterochromatic stare, and Kuroko tried not to flinch. "Young people should not work so hard," Akashi said.

"No," Kuroko agreed. "They shouldn't."

Kuroko knew his stare could not compete with Akashi's, but he thought he got his point across just the same.

...

Saturday nights tended to be slow. The hospital dimmed its lights, and the family members who could not bear to leave their loved ones alone curled up on hard-backed couches. The rattle of hospital beds echoed up and down the hallways, and every face seemed gaunt no matter what the context. The whole atmosphere felt eerie, but his mother worked Saturday nights, and Kuroko thought he would just as soon be at the hospital with her than home alone.

His coffee felt even more valued during the moonlit hours, and often, his customers expressed their gratitude through weary smiles or whispered words. Kuroko liked that part of his job.

However, his heart did strange things when he noticed a familiar head of red hair come toward the counter. As much as he enjoyed his odd encounters with Akashi, he hated to see a high school student alone at a hospital at night. Even the seemingly immortal Akashi.

"What would you recommend?" Akashi greeted.

This was new. Kuroko carefully noted the tiredness in his face, and he wondered what brought about this vulnerability. Though humans often let their guards down at night, Kuroko wondered if something happened with his sick loved one.

"That depends. Different coffees heal different ailments," Kuroko said. A gamble but one he hoped would pay off.

Akashi chuckled, a bitter noise that expressed more pain than humor. "My mother is dying, and my father finds his business endeavors more important," he said.

"One moment," Kuroko said.

He stepped back and worked his magic. As he mixed syrups, espresso shots, and steamed milk, Kuroko realized that he was not surprised. The lonely loyalty that Akashi exhibited pointed to this scenario, but it still hurt Kuroko. Sympathy came easy to him, and now empathy hit him harder.

Kuroko gave Akashi the large drink, and he took a sip. His lips lifted into the smallest smile.

"What's in it?" he inquired.

"Two shots of mocha for the comfort you deserve. A shot of coconut for hope for better days in the future. A shot of vanilla for love that mortal death cannot touch," Kuroko replied. "It's our special."


	6. What's an Hour or Twenty-Four Late

**Day Six (What's an Hour or Twenty-Four Late)**

Kuroko woke to warmth parting his lips, and he returned the kiss even before he fully woke. When he opened his eyes, a familiar scarlet and golden gaze met his, and they both smiled. Small and meaningful. Neither ever indulged themselves in needlessly exuberant expressions.

"Good morning, Akashi-kun."

"Good morning, Tetsuya."

They often greeted the morning and each other in this way, and though Kuroko never thought such a happiness would be his own, he and Akashi had lived together for six years now. Together they navigated the unknown waters of life and adulthood, and though they struggled through their shares of troubles, they came out on the other side stronger and closer.

Normally, they would now rise from bed, dress and prepare themselves for the day, and drift in and out of each other's paths. They shared coffee or tea, and they took turns cooking breakfast.

Kuroko made to get up to instigate this routine, but a weight suddenly pressed down on his stomach, and his eyes widened when he noticed Akashi smiling down at him, a hint of mischief in his grin. When he successfully straddled Kuroko in this way, he had no hope of moving. Their size difference mattered little, but Akashi's strength still outmatched his own by far.

"Akashi-kun, I have work," Kuroko rationalized.

Rather than reply to this logical statement, Akashi leaned down and captured Kuroko's lips once again. Kuroko indulged him for a moment before gently pushing against Akashi's chest. "I need time to dress," Kuroko reminded him.

"Would you not rather spend your time with me?" Akashi teased. His hands drifted lower, finding every place on Kuroko's chest and then farther down that he knew made Kuroko mew and curl in that particular way. He followed the path of his hands with his mouth and placed fluttering kisses across pale skin.

Kuroko tried to respond with something intelligent, but he quite lost the ability. "Akashi-kun," he gasped instead, and Akashi chuckled deep in his throat.

An hour or so later, Kuroko panted until his mind cleared enough that he once again felt awareness of his surroundings. He tried to glare at Akashi's smug expression, his lithe body next to Kuroko's, but the effort was rather half-hearted. "I will be late to work," he scolded.

Akashi wrapped an arm around Kuroko's bare waist and pulled him closer. "The school called before you woke up. There is a problem with the water pipes, so school is cancelled for today."

"And you did not care to tell me before now?" Kuroko said.

"I like that you became quite unconcerned about work after a few moments of persuasion," Akashi teased.

A blush bloomed across Kuroko's cheeks, and Akashi kissed his nose. Rather than respond in kind with sweetness, Kuroko aimed lower and kissed Akashi's neck. A kiss which became a nip which became a bite. When Akashi questioned him with raised eyebrows, Kuroko's petulant twist of a smile showed his defiance.

"You will not be going to work today either," Kuroko promised.


	7. Akashi's Game

**Day Seven (Akashi's Game)**

When Akashi woke, he found a message on his desk. The digitalized words danced around his screen, and though Akashi comprehended them immediately, apprehension pricked at the back of his neck as to why.

_Come see me. -Nijimura_

Akashi told his army leader of his summoning, and their eyes met for a moment of silence. As Akashi left their quarters, they both knew that he would not be returning.

He followed the flashing lights of the hallways that curved slightly at the sides until he found the captain's office. He carried nothing with him because he owned nothing but the flash suit on his back. When Nijimura came to his home to bring Akashi to Battle School, he left everything behind and started a new life in which the only thing to aid him in this place so far from Earth's orbit was his mind.

Akashi entered at Nijimura's approval, and they measured each other up from across his desk. Once the door shut behind him, Akashi suddenly felt the weight of what this meeting must mean.

"You have been doing well during the battles," Nijimura praised by greeting.

Not that such pretty words meant anything. Of course Akashi did well in the battles.

Since the moment Akashi entered the Battle School, he knew he was not brought here to be a simple soldier. He left his launch group to join an army long before the usual age, and the teachers expected more from him than any of the other boys. Even when they rigged situations to put Akashi at a disadvantage, they never stepped in to help him because they wanted Akashi to succeed on his own.

And each and every time, he did. Without even a change of expression, Akashi found the correct solution in record time, and he left his teachers scrambling for a new way to throw him for a loop.

Akashi was only ten-years-old, but they planned to make him a commander one day. Leader of an entire fleet.

"Yes," Akashi replied. He did not feel the need to clarify when he knew Nijimura watched every one of his battles.

"However, you do not always follow your army leader's orders," Nijimura continued in a voice dangerously close to scolding.

Akashi knew of what he referred. Since he was so young when he first joined Haizaki's army, the leader angrily ranted that the superiors were crippling his chances by sending him a newbie. Haizaki ordered that Akashi stay in the gate and do nothing during the battle, and Akashi seethed at being brushed aside for his age.

He only obeyed Haizaki during his first battle because he liked the chance to watch. The Battle Room was completely zero-gravity, and floating spheres known as stars hung in the atmosphere to act as either obstacles or aids. The armies entered the room from their own gates, and the boys battled each other with special guns that froze their battle suits, rendering the wearer immobile.

The leaders organized strategies by splitting their armies into toons and sending them on separate missions, but some leaders excelled more at strategy than others.

Akashi learned quickly that Haizaki was fairly incompetent, and by the second battle, he disregarded Haizaki's order to remain still and froze an entire enemy toon before anyone even realized where he was stationed.

Haizaki was furious and hit Akashi so hard that he fell to the ground, but Akashi had won the true battle. He had proved that he was smarter.

Not long after that, Akashi was transferred to a different army where the leader acknowledged his skills, but Haizaki never forgave him.

"I follow the orders that are worth following," Akashi said.

"Is that so?" Nijimura mused. "How would you like to give them instead?"

Most soldiers did not receive their own armies until they were twelve, but Akashi was not most soldiers. Barely fifteen minutes later, Akashi entered a different bunker where forty boys saluted to him as their leader. His mind raced as he returned the salute, and his eyes quickly assessed his soldiers. Most seemed average – a mismatched army of newbies and outcasts. Once again, Akashi realized, they were trying to put him at a disadvantage.

Not that it would work.

"We will hold practice in the Battle Room in ten minutes. If you are not dressed and ready by then, you will march out of here in nothing but your skin," Akashi said.

The boys desperately scrambled to find their battle suits and guns, and Akashi silently deliberated over how to handle this clay in hands to be molded. As a newbie fresh from the rocket that brought him here, Nijimura made a point to isolate Akashi and make the other boys hate him for his genius. Akashi eventually found a few boys who respected him more than they hated him, but he still remembered his anger at how every one of his superiors treated him.

And yet, the process had made Akashi stronger. Would he be so self-sufficient and quick to act if it hadn't been for the harsh treatment from the start?

Ten minutes later, Akashi addressed his soldiers in the Battle Room. A handful had walked down the halls with their battle suits in their hands rather than on their bodies, but they giggled as they hurriedly pulled them on at the gates. They knew that Akashi was serious now, but then again, Akashi doubted they ever had any doubt about that.

He set them to warm up by flying from star to star and then back, but Akashi really wanted to gauge the extent of their skills. Naturally, the younger ones were awkward as they tried to aim for the stars, but the slightly older ones seemed to handle the basic movement decently.

Then one boy in particular caught his eyes.

He was smaller than the rest and far frailer, and Akashi supposed that was why he did not notice him at first. Pale blue hair was the only physical feature that set him apart from the rest, but he operated the zero gravity as well as a veteran. He glided from star to star, and he angled his turns to place him in the idea position to either attack or flee. While Akashi knew this kid could not have been in a battle yet, his instincts guided him well.

Akashi made a motion with his hand, and all the soldiers returned to the gate where Akashi waited for them.

"Who can tell me the best way to win a battle?" Akashi said.

The boys shuffled uncertainly, and they shot each other questioning glances. Finally, a pale boy with blond hair spoke up, "You shoot all the enemies, right?"

"You create the most ingenious strategy," a green-haired boy with glasses inserted.

"You make sure the enemy can't fight back," added one with dark skin and a wicked smile.

Akashi surveyed them all, and he noticed a fighting spirit enter the boys at the idea of doing just these things to another army. Then a smaller, quieter voice changed the course of the lecture.

"You work together and infiltrate the enemy's gate," said the tiny boy with the skill for flying.

Akashi fixated his gaze on him, and the other soldiers followed until the entire room stared at him. To his credit he did not let himself get flustered, and he regarded Akashi with unfazed blue eyes.

"What's your name?" Akashi demanded.

"Kuroko," he said.

"First name?"

"Tetsuya."

"Tetsuya," Akashi repeated. "Do you disagree with the methods that the others presented?" His voice held a challenge, and every one of his soldiers recognized it. They stared at Kuroko as if they expected Akashi to eat him.

"Not necessarily. I only believe the core idea of this game is to work together to form a strategy and attack plan to reach the enemy gate. This likely involves shooting at the enemy, but the enemy cannot fight back if we are already at their gate."

Kuroko never shifted or changed his expression during his speech, and Akashi noticed that many of the boys blushed red as they personally took Kuroko's words as an attack. Their resentment toward him radiated from them, and Akashi was struck by the familiarity of it.

"That is a very naïve view from a newbie fresh from his launch. I suggest you gain some experience before you spout such idealistic nonsense," Akashi said even as he wondered why he so purposefully brought the small boy down.

"I can prove to you my way will work," Kuroko insisted.

Akashi laughed, sharp and bitter. "Is that so?" he said. And then he began practice, and while he did not crush Kuroko into the ground, the damage had been done. The other boys avoided him, and some 'accidentally' ran into him during their training. Kuroko seemed even smaller than he had before.

After three hours in the Battle Room, Akashi dismissed his new soldiers to lunch. He was not surprised when Kuroko cornered him in an empty hallway.

"I know what you are doing," Kuroko said. While his expression never wavered, Akashi noticed the way he fisted his hands. So the kid did feel anger after all.

"And what is that?" Akashi prompted.

"You're isolating me. You made them hate me." The words did not quite come out a whine, but they were close.

Akashi tried not to let his emotions rise, but anger beckoned to him. He grabbed the smaller boy's shoulders and pressed them against the wall. Not enough to hurt but enough to make a point. Akashi leered over him and spoke in a low whisper just between the two of them.

"I set you apart. If I had done nothing, you would only have been the poor small boy who won't hold up against a nine-year-old. They'll watch you now. Show them that your way of battle can work."

When Akashi stepped back, he saw the plans forming in Kuroko's mind already.

Akashi only wondered if he would destroy the kid or bring him up to be the best soldier that Battle School had ever seen.


End file.
